MONTEVALLO, Alabama - Parents of possibly more than 70 students
pulled their children from attending class at Montevallo Elementary School this
morning due to ongoing worries about health and safety from mold, asbestos and
even snakes in the building.

"I'm choosing between their health and education, and
that's a horrible place for a parent to be in," Jennifer Macomb, a member of
the Montevallo parent-teacher organization. "We're here, we're ready to learn,
but they have to be safe."

Concerned parents of Montevallo Elementary School students gather in a parking lot across from the institution to discuss plans to withdraw their children from class due to concerns about health and safety on Monday, Dec. 3, 2012. (Martin J. Reed / mreed@al.com)

A group of roughly 30 parents with their children
gathered in a parking lot across the street from Montevallo Elementary School this
morning to present signed letters to Principal Annie McClain expressing their
worries about placing kids in the building.

"We will not bring our children into this building until
it is made safe for them," the letter states. "Is there anywhere else we can
take them for their education today?"

Missy Wilson, who has a second-grader at the school, said
representatives of the concerned parents spoke with McClain this morning.
"Right now they're saying we can have the principal's permission for our
children to be out of school," Wilson said in the parking lot.

She placed the number of pupils affected by the action at
73, "and additional children can be added to the list."

Stephanie Burns, the parent group's liaison to the Shelby
County Board of Education, said the concerned parents want a place free of mold
and other health concerns where their children can continue their education.

"We're waiting to hear word back from the
superintendent's office about where we can take our kids," said Burns, who has
a fourth- and fifth-grader at the school.

The district is also working on plans to get the affected
students their school work so they can continue their education, parents said.

Since the district's announcement of mold in a
fifth-grade area at the school in late September, worries and frustrations from
parents continue to build over the matter. The issue has attracted the
attention of high-powered Birmingham attorney and former federal judge U.W.
Clemon.

"They will not allow the children to go to school,"
Clemon said in a phone interview on Sunday night. "If the principal will tell
them any other location at the school they can take the kids, they will."

Parents talked about concerns with not only mold, but
also asbestos in the building and snakes coming into classrooms.

Shelby County School District leaders contend that work
is nearly complete to remove and prevent mold at the building where about 100
fifth-graders have been relocated to portable classrooms.

"We continue to maintain that Montevallo Elementary
School is a safe environment for students, faculty, staff and parents,"
district Superintendent Randy Fuller stated in a letter sent to Montevallo
Elementary parents on Friday.

Fuller in the letter concerning mold and asbestos
concerns said every room within the institution's affected building will
undergo testing this week. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will visit
the school to review asbestos locations and ensure compliance with regulations,
according to the letter.

"There are very few areas of asbestos containing
materials at Montevallo Elementary," he said. "There are no asbestos containing
materials in the 5th grade or kindergarten wings. There are some panels on the
exterior of the main building that have asbestos containing material."

Some parents feel the school district has not been
forthcoming with requested information about the building concerning asbestos and
mold work, which they say includes removing and replacing ceiling tiles late at
night.